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Slide Guide Used in Fluorescence Microscope

Thursday, 01 February 2007

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In the USA and other developed
countries, cancer is responsible for 25%
of all deaths. In spite of the most recent
advances in cancer research, by far the
best curative treatment for the disease is
early detection. Such technology
revolves around quick identification of
malignant cells, necessitating clean,
crisp images for oncologists. The
CellTracks Analyzer II by Immunicon
(Huntington Valley, PA) is a semi-automated
fluorescence microscope system
used to count and characterize fluorescently
labeled cells that are immuno-magnetically
selected and aligned. The
SEBS-B type miniature slide guide, from
NB Corp. of America (Wood Dale, IL), is
tapped as part of the microscope’s system
of axes.

Cancer is a growth of cells that is unrestricted
and inchoate. As a term, “cancer”
usually refers to malignant neoplasm only,
those cancers characterized by spreading
to other sites in a process called metastasis.
In a metastatic invasion, cancer cells
break off of the primary tumor and travel
to remote locations in the body via the
blood stream, lymphatic system, or both
and there take root in the form of a new
tumor. While metastasis is a characteristic
of late-stage tumor growth, doctors and
patients usually do not take the chance at
any stage of the disease. Detection
methodologies, from mammography to
the CellTracks Analyzer, must be able to
clearly differentiate cancerous cells from
a background of otherwise healthy cells
that number in the billions. The
CellTracks Analyzer II tests the blood of
the patient, searching for circulating
tumor cells (CTC) that have since broken
away from the primary tumor and flowing
through patient’s bloodstream.

A fluorescence microscope is a light
microscope used to study properties of
substances using fluorescence and/or
phosphorescence rather than, or in addition
to, the reflection and absorption
techniques of conventional microscopes.
The light used is also usually more
intense than convention counterparts.

The CellTracks Analyzer II, designed
to count and characterize CTCs, contains
several NB components; the stainless
SEBS-B guides are found in three
(of the four) axes, consisting
of a block and guide rail, both
of which have two precision
ground raceway grooves.
Wanting to keep the design
compact, Immunicon had to
pay close attention to the size
of all the components used.
The two-raceway and four-point
contact structure of the
SEB-B minimizes their height,
making them suited for the
limited space provided; the
SEBS is the smallest and lightest
slide guide series in NB’s
stock. Due to the need for fine
precision for the viewer, the
ability of the guides to maintain a constant
level of friction and running
(Immunicon used the nonretained-ball
version of the SEBS-B) was a determining
factor in the CellTracks’ design.
Immunicon choose the SEBS-B specifically
for its preload; for the fact that it
has no “play.” Two axes using the slide
guide control the movement of the sample,
requiring an unvarying smoothness
of motion. The third SEB-S axis moves
one of three optical blocks, called filter
cubes, into position in the optical path
of the microscope. This cube provides a
convenient means to change the microscope’s
mirror without direct handling
of either the mirror or filters.

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